BHP Group's (ASX:BHP) five-year total shareholder returns outpace the underlying earnings growth
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Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. To wit, the BHP Group share price has climbed 29% in five years, easily topping the market return of 14% (ignoring dividends). On the other hand, the more recent gains haven't been so impressive, with shareholders gaining just 7.5% , including dividends .
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Although BHP Group has shed AU$7.1b from its market cap this week, let's take a look at its longer term fundamental trends and see if they've driven returns.
Check out our latest analysis for BHP Group
To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
Over half a decade, BHP Group managed to grow its earnings per share at 31% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 5% average annual increase in the share price. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 7.74.
You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).
We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free interactive report on BHP Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.
What About Dividends?
When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of BHP Group, it has a TSR of 116% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.
A Different Perspective
It's good to see that BHP Group has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 7.5% in the last twelve months. That's including the dividend. Having said that, the five-year TSR of 17% a year, is even better. The pessimistic view would be that be that the stock has its best days behind it, but on the other hand the price might simply be moderating while the business itself continues to execute. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand BHP Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for BHP Group (of which 1 is significant!) you should know about.